How can I view the status of my order? Go to the Customer Service, Account Information page. This page lists all your orders. Click the order whose status you wish to view

When will my order ship? This varies with what you ordered. I try to get all orders out within 3-5 days, but certain items take up to a week. You will get a tracking number on anything sent via UPS.

Do these phones connect to modular jacks? YES. Every desk telephone I sell has a modular line cord and will plug right into the wall jack. Most of the wall telephones I sell connect to standard RJ11 modular wall plates (the exceptions are noted).

Do these phones work? YES. I don't sell non-working phones! Every phone is guaranteed to work, without any modification to your home wiring, and work on MODULAR, standard jacks found in all American homes.

Do rotary dial phones work on touchtone lines? In general, yes. Standard residential systems will accept pulse dialing. However, if you have VOIP or digital cable or similar telephone service, it is important that you check with your telephone service provider that their system accepts pulse dialing. If you have DSL you will need a filter in line.

Do your phones come with modular, standard line cords? Yes.

My princess phone does not light. What do I need to make it light? The princess actually has 2 parallel circuits: one for the phone and one for the light. The original Princess required an EXTERNAL source of power in order to get the lightbulb to light up. I sell the bulbs and the transformer and the special duplex jack required to bring power to the bulb. Instructions on wiring the transformer (really it is just plug and play... as long as you plug the duplex jack into the wall and not the back of the phone you cannot mess up) are found on THIS page. There is a GREAT source of information on The Princess - everything you could ever want to know - on Dave Massey's great site HERE.

Are your phones brand new? No, unless clearly stated, they are all factory refurbished used phones. The only exceptions are marked "new in box" on the listing, like certain 500 sets so designated. I wish I had a source of brand new, 30 to 70 year old phones. I don't own a time machine, unfortunately.

Does the "batphone" light up? How do you dial out with it? At this time, the 500 is not available in a model that can light up. I have these on back order: they will be back! Keep checking the site for them. The "bat phone" is an "answer-only" set, and unless you purchase an autodialer with it it will not dial out. An autodialer is no longer available through my site.

Do I have to change my wiring or my service to use one of your old phones? No. As long as you have standard, modular jacks like the rest of the USA you are set. The 2554 wall phones all require modular wall plates, but that is what virtually all homes have in their kitchens.

What are the dimensions of the...

2554: 8 3/4 inches high and 4 inches wide at the top
554: 9.5 inches by 5.5 inches wide

What is your satisfaction guarantee? Every phone is satisfaction guaranteed. Period. That means that if you don't like the phone for any reason, mail it back to me within a week of receiving it, and I will refund your payment, minus shipping costs. If the phone is defective, then mail it to me and I will fix it free. See next paragraph:

What is your return policy? You may return the telephone for full refund less shipping as long as the telephone is postmarked within 7 days of delivery. I use delivery confirmation and I do check. As long as the telephone arrives in original packaging and in the same shape it left here in, I am quite happy to refund. I do not accept returns after it has been at its new owner's place for more than 7 days. To clarify: it has to be postmarked within 7 days of arrival. Obviously it will not arrive back at Oldphones within 7 days of its arrival. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Pack it well. I don't refund phones that arrive broken. Don't ship any phone on its side - that tends to result in a broken phone. Don't put the handset on the cradle. Wrap the handset in bubble wrap and separate the base from the handset with plenty of padding. Special orders are NOT returnable.

What do you mean by METAL HOOK on the sites for 554 and 3554?This is the thing that holds the handset and is used to hang up the phone. It can be either clear plastic or chrome plated metal (the latter for an additional charge).

Do you take PayPal? No, for a good reason. Paypal is for those who are not already credit card merchants, which is why they can charge so very much for their service. I already pay a processing fee as a full fledged credit card merchant, so don't need their help.

How secure is your order form? The form uses 128 bit encryption, which is the industry standard. We have NEVER had a security breech - never a single lost credit card number. The company that does my processing, Skipjack, after billions of dollars of transactions, has NEVER had a lost number. The FBI actually uses Skipjack's proprietary software for their OWN security - how'ZAT for a vote of confidence? You can verify my order form's security in a number of ways: (1) the "https:" in the address means it is secure (2) if you click on the lock icon in your browser window it will bring up the site certificate through Verifax.

Do you take Discover, Diner's Club, or American Express? Sorry, no. I only take Visa and Mastercard.

What is your mailing address? Click here for this information.

Do these telephones require any additional wiring to work in my home? No. Each one comes with a modular cord and plugs right in to any jack in an American residential system. I make no guarantees about European or Asian systems, however. Just the same, I have sent phones to Japan, Denmark, Singapore, Australia, the UK, Germany, and Italy and they have worked just great. In the UK an adapter is required but they are available locally. Bear in mind that if you use VOIP (Vonage, etc) then rotary dial sets will not work without a pulse-to-tone converter (available here)

Do you ship overseas, and to Canada? Yes, but with restrictions. A paperwork fee of $5 is added to all international orders. I use Global Express Mail for all international orders now. This service is much faster than parcel post air and is trackable -- something you cannot do with parcel post. The first $100 insurance is included in the GEM charge. It is best to email me in order to get an estimate on shipping charges. Shipping to Canada is generally about twice the USPS Priority amount.

What is your guarantee for these phones? I guarantee these phones to work for life. If problems arise during the first 3 months just mail it to me and I will repair and ship back free of charge. This guarantee does not apply to traumatic damage, of course. If you drop the phone and it breaks, you will have to pay for replacement parts even within the first year. Any problems that arise after the first 3 months and before a year is up I will fix and replace parts, but you pay return shipping. Any problems that arise after a year are also free in terms of repair labor costs, but you will have to pay shipping back, plus any parts that I need to replace.

What condition are they in? All telephones are in very good to excellent condition. "Mint" is reserved for the sets that are new-in-the-box (like the Prospector in Toy Story II, but don't get me started...)

Can you tell me the value of MY phone? In short, NO. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and so value is in the eye of the beholder. I generally don't buy from folks that email me, and so I cannot tell you what to charge... please don't ask me to price your merchandise. Without seeing the piece in front of me, I cannot assess a piece anyway. I will not tell you how much to put as a reserve auction on Ebay and will not respond so such requests.

Will you repair my 302/202/500/princess phone? Yes, I do repairs of cradle sets made in the US but I don't repair candlesticks or oak wall phones (see below: I can refer you to someone who does!). Minimum repair charge is $25 for labor plus parts and return shipping. Email me for more info. Click here for details about mailing me your phone. Most repairs are now handled by my partner in Arizona, Mr. Steve Hilsz.

Where do you get them? I did call this frequently asked questions, not frequently answered questions!

How do I remove the fingerwheel of my 500/princess/554 set? Click here for instructions.

How do I remove/replace the numbercard from my AE40/AE50 set? Click here for instructions.

Do you accept personal checks? Sorry - no longer. The risk involved in taking checks for $5 that bounce (I pay $25 fee for the $5 order) is simply not the risk. I imagine that larger companies can absorb such risk, but I cannot. If you aren't comfortable putting your credit card info on my site,then choose "check/money order" at check out. I accept only the money orders from USPS, because they are not prone to be fraudulent.

Can you give me a reference or two? Absolutely. Email me with this request and I will give you a few names of customers who have agreed to serve as references.

Can you sell me a wood wall phone? No. But this may change...

My relative gave me an old wooden wall phone, can you tell me its value and/or do you want to purchase it? No, sorry. I do not deal in old wooden wall phones and do not pretend to have any expertise in them.

I have an old wood wall phone/candlestick phone, which I would like to restore, can you help me? sorry, I only work on cradle phones. But for help with these contact Steve Hilsz.

Why do you not list a telephone number on your site? I prefer to place the order over the telephone. That's a long story. I am no longer equipped to take orders over the phone. This is not a traditional "bricks and mortar" store, and is a home-based business. I had my telephone number listed for many years, with careful instructions about when to call and when NOT to call. It did not take too many calls in the middle of the night, or at inappropriate times that made me realize that my family life is more important to me than grubbing for one more order. I'm very quick to reply to emails, and if you absolutely need to speak with me, you can email me your telephone number and I will schedule a time to call you back. I am on call enough in my real life job - I cannot be on call 24 hours a day for a hobby business. We all need a break now and again. I realize that this decision will cost me some business, but you cannot buy happiness!

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